As I was heading downtown today on the BxM1 Express bus, two things happened.
First:
I walked up to the bus stop outside our building with MetroCards - times four. Problem was, I couldn't find the fourth one. It's a $5.50 fare for the express because it makes only a few stops before going into Manhattan.
Card #1 - $2.25
Card #2 - $0.00
Card #3 - $0.70
So $2.95 paid of a $5.50 fare - the bus driver let me on anyway. Nice guy.
I sit in my seat and am rifling through my wallet and eventually found the real MetroCard - the one with $22.50, the one I could have used when I got on the bus. I exited and inserted the card into the pay machine, and the bus driver gave me a smile - "Found it, huh?" to which I replied "Yeah, I knew it was in there, I wasn't trying to cheat you out of $5.50".
Good start to the day.
Second:
On the bus - which is a Coach bus, not like one of the standard city buses with the hard plastic seats - there's nice plush fabric seats. I am lucky because I got on on like the third stop the bus makes, so there are always seats available.
As we make a few more stops, it starts to fill up, but people are so reluctant to sit next to strangers. They'd rather stand in a 18" aisle instead of sitting down. There isn't a need to ask if the seats taken, it clearly is empty. SIT!
And people pull the "sit on the outside because it's a pain in the ass to move in" bullshit to a T. There are fake sleepers, phone talkers (even though cell phone usage is frowned upon), iPod junkies - all sorts - and they all pretend not to see people walk on. Me, I always take the window and if someone sits next to me, so be it.
I crank that air stream though because I sweat like a mo-fo on public transportation - especially buses.
So, if you're one of those assholes who thinks sitting on the outside of a two seat row is a deterrent, you may be right in Riverdale, but you're oh-so-wrong in life.
Anyway, that was my experience today that I felt compelled to share with you. Goodnight.
